


A blanket of snow

by FallenFurther



Series: Whumptober 2020 [7]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Angst, Avalanches, Buried Alive, Gen, Hypothermia, Rescue, Snow, Snowboarding, Whump, be extreme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:55:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27209242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenFurther/pseuds/FallenFurther
Summary: Virgil is out on a rescue when he finds out that an avalanche has buried Alan and The Bear. What makes it harder is that the local rescue teams are prioritising other people. With International Rescue's resources spread thin, Virgil has to finish up where he is before he can rescue his brother, but will he get there in time?Written using whumptober number 21
Series: Whumptober 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946191
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	A blanket of snow

**Author's Note:**

> Whumptober number 21: I don't feel so well  
> Prompt: Hypothermia

It had to be Alan, Virgil thought as he climbed into Thunderbird Two. It had to be the brother with little wariness of snow. Sure, he was cautious when with them, because he fed off the atmosphere they created. The rest of them didn’t like snow, it brought back too many bad memories, even for Gordon. Alan had been so young when they had lost Mum. He hadn’t understood at the time, he had wondered why she had never come home, where she had gone. The toddler had searched the house of shaky legs, looking for his mum. He would cry when she couldn’t be found. It had been Scott who had picked him up and comforted him. Scott who had rounded them all up and brushed down the black suits the day of the funeral. It was Scott that Alan got his thrill seeking streak from. That need for the adrenaline rush. Maybe that’s why Scott was wary of his friendship with The Bear, Alan’s internet idol, and why he had closed his eyes when Alan had approached him about going on a winter break with The Bear. Alan just wasn’t wary of snow. 

*****

Virgil ran down the corridor of the tower block. A major gas leak had blown up a block of flats but the city's firefighting department was already attending fires in two other locations and required International Rescue’s assistance. It seemed like the arsonists were out in the droves. John had suggested the record heatwave in the area might be contributing, but the cause didn’t matter when people were trapped. The exosuit’s electronic screech accompanied his every step as he moved towards the most affected area. Gordon was handling the evacuation of the other side of the building. According to John’s scans they only had sixteen people left to rescue. Virgil slowed as he reached blockage. The jaws gasped the beam easily and he started to shift it. It was at this point that John popped up by his wrist. 

“Virgil, how clos..”

“I’m kinda busy, John. Can’t it wait?”

Virgil stepped back with a grunt. The beam was heavier than he expected. Relying on the mechanics of the exosuit, Virgil lowered the beam to the ground without damaging any more of the structure. A little debris rained down muting the blue of his uniform, but nothing large enough to cause any problems. Lifting his wrist up he met the gaze of the space monitor. There was concern hidden in those eyes. 

“Yes, John.”

“How close are you two finishing up there? Another rescue has come in.”

“Half an hour and we should have everyone out. What is the other rescue?”

“Avalanche.”

Virgil’s stomach sank. They all hated avalanches. They all knew how deadly they could be, and time was their enemy. Hypothermia could set in quickly. It’ll be a shock going from the heat to the cold but they would do it. It was the subtle concern in John’s face that stopped Virgil from signing off. 

“Where is it, John?”

John swallowed. Those green eyes, tinted blue in the hologram, met Virgil’s. 

“Chamonix, France.”

“That’s…”

“Alan’s involved. The local mountain rescue is heading out, but there are dozens of people caught up in it. I have his and Brandon’s locations, but they are much further up the mountain than anyone else trapped.”

“We’ll finish up here as quickly as we can. You hear that Gordon?”

“FAB. Finish up quickly.”

Gordon’s voice lacked its usual joviality as it echoed through the comm line. There was nothing like a younger brother in trouble to bring out the serious side of Gordon. Alan was his partner in crime and he would never leave his buddy out in the cold to die. John disappeared and Virgil pushed on with renewed haste. 

******

Forty nine minutes later and they were in Thunderbird Two and preparing for launch. The last family Virgil had rescued had been in a bad way and it had taken longer to retrieve them. He was thankful that the ambulance service was onsite and at hand to whisk away all the injured, saving them a job. Gordon plonked himself down in the seat beside him, but instead of sitting back as he normally would, his back was ramrod straight. His head turned to Virgil and they nodded in unison. 

“Let’s go get Alan.”

The knot in Virgil’s stomach tightened. So much time had passed already. Even in a crash bubble Alan would be feeling the cold. Fingers flipped switches automatically. Their designated flight path to France flicked up before him as Thunderbird Two thrummed beneath him. There would always be rescues that hurt, that sank deep into the soul before they had even launched. Gordon’s rescue came to mind. The vertical launch felt slower than that subdued takeoff, but Virgil held onto the hope that the end result would be the same. That Thunderbird Two would fly Alan to a hospital where he could recover, just as it had Gordon. This was a personal mission. 

“Thunderbird Two launched, course set and ETA thirty one minutes. John, what’s the current situation?”

The holograms of John and Grandma popped up between the two pilots, both with the same expression of concern on their face. There was no way Grandma wouldn’t be monitoring the health of Alan right now, having lost her husband to the avalanche. Her medical knowledge was a bonus. Despite all Virgil’s training, Grandma’s intuition and experience far exceeded his and International Rescue was lucky to have her on board. 

“The local mountain rescue team has started to rescue those on the lower slope where most of the casualties are located. I informed them of the location of Brandon and Alan but they don’t have the resources to spare. They want to focus their limited resources where they can do the most good.”

“Understandable. So it’s up to us to rescue our pair.”

“Exactly. From the inventory list I can see you’ve got two heat cones in the module. Considering the time since the avalanche I suggest making the most of this and slip the job.”

“I agree with this plan. I’ve been monitoring their vitals through the crash bubbles sensors. Both have severely reduced core temperatures and will be hypothermic when you reach them. Both are currently responding to my verbal communications.”

Virgil noted the data tab that popped up on his tablet. Scanning the crafts sensors already confirmed that she was at top cruising speed. Manual override could make her go faster, but there was only so much stress her engines could take and Brains was still annoyed at his various underwater manoeuvres. Was it a risk he wanted to take? Five extra minutes could make all the difference. 

“What about Scott?”

“Scott’s still stuck trying to safely rescue the stranded climbers on Everest. He’ll be straight there when he’s finished, but his ETA will be after yours. I’ll send him to help the locals unless the situation changes.”

“Right. I’ll prepare the medbay ready. Gordon, fancy taking her off autopilot?”

“FAB.”

Virgil pushed up his controls and started rummaging through the supplies for the hypothermia kits. It would be best to treat them in the module, where the air would be cooler, to avoid shocking their bodies. The vibrations beneath his feet increased as Gordon coaxed Thunderbird Two to go faster. Carrying the two packs, Virgil headed into the belly of the craft to the module. He set up a stretcher on each side with the required equipment secured down but in easy grasp. He threw a thermal blanket onto the back seat of each pod. He sighed before pressing the data tab on his tablet. Brandon and Alan’s stats came up side by side. Both were suffering, but Alan, despite the high tech thermal clothes he was wearing, was smaller and his stats were slightly worse than Brandon’s. They needed to get there fast. Heading back to the cockpit, he took over control, checked the readings and pushed Thunderbird Two that little bit harder. 

Virgil had managed to cut seven minutes off the flight time to France. John had already marked a suitable landing site for him and as soon as Thunderbird Two was stationary both he and Gordon were out of their chairs and racing towards the module. Gordon was straight on the mechanism, lowering the module before configuring the pods. Virgil used the time to check Alan and Brandon's vitals. Both were critical but Alan's had deteriorated further than predicted. Virgil jumped up into the pod and yanked the top closed. 

"I'll get Alan, you get Brandon."

The look Virgil gave Gordon quelled any arguments. Instead Gordon revved the pod's engine as they waited for the hatch to open completely. They raced out into the snow, heading first in the same direction before Gordon veered off to the left. Brandon was further down the slope. Virgil climbed, watching the little blob that indicated his brother get closer and closer. He had to slow to get the positioning right but the moment it was all lined up he whacked on the heat cones and let the pod do its job. The sensors knew when to stop and Virgil trusted them despite the shake in his hands as he gripped the controls. The pod stopped and slowly the red of Alan's bubble came into view. Virgil activated the arms and grabbed one of the holds on the bubble. Slowly he backed out of the hole and onto the surface again. 

The pod clicked back together and rolled back, moving the bubble well away from the newly made hole. Hitting the brakes, Virgil threw the hatch open and jumped out. His fingers grabbed the zip and yanked. The bubble opened to reveal Alan. Relief tried to slip in but Virgil knew better. Alan's skin was pale, his lips had a blue tinge and he wasn't shivering. All bad signs. Reaching in, he unclipped Alan, grabbing him as he fell. The bubble deflated completely but it had done its job. Carrying Alan, Virgil carefully climbed up into the pod and lowered his brother into the back seat. Slipping a hand beneath Alan, he retrieved the thermal blanket, which he unfolded and wrapped around his brother. Alan's eyes flickered, catching his for a moment.

"Virg…"

Alan's voice was weak, but at least he was just about conscious. 

"It's me, Alan. I'm here." Virgil rubbed his brother's arm. "I'll get you in Two and warmed up in no time."

Alan's eyes closed but a small blue smile came to his face. Virgil twisted in his seat and grabbed the controls, turning the pod in the direction of Thunderbird Two. 

*****

Virgil spent the flight to the hospital dashing between his two casualties. Brandon was more alert but wasn't doing much better than Alan. He had needed help to strip off his many layers. Although the top layers were dry, thanks to the bubble, his bottom ones would contain sweat which wouldn't help his condition. Virgil wrapped the foil blanket around the now bare man, he then piled on a couple of blankets. Once sorted he went back to Alan, who he'd already given the same treatment. 

Alan's skin was still a sickly pale and those blue eyes were closed. Virgil placed a hand on Alan's head. Alan's body temperature was still dangerously low, however it had stabilized. Virgil's finger stroked the cool skin of his brother’s forehead and wished there was more he could do. He knew Scott would be beside himself with worry, and that John would be preparing to come down from space when everyone had been rescued. The whole family would be around Alan soon. His brother's eyes flickered open, the blue irises shrinking against the light before finding Virgil. 

"Hey Alan."

Alan's lips shuddered as he tried to say something. Worry and fear filled those young blue eyes. Moving his free hand to Alan's arm and giving it a squeeze, Virgil fixed his gaze with Alan.

"We've got you."

The worry slipped from Alan's eyes as they started to water. Virgil wanted to wrap his arms round Alan, to pull him close, but knew he shouldn't. Instead, he squeezed Alan's arm again, letting his brother know it was okay. 

******

Virgil sat in one of the seats in Brandon and Alan's room. The hospital had put them together for security reasons, but Virgil had to admit it was good for the friends to be together. They were supporting each other through their recovery. Brandon was almost back to his excitable self and already planning his next extreme adventure, much to the displeasure of Scott. Scott had coped surprisingly well, considering, though Brandon seemed intent on testing Scott's nerves. The Commander of International Rescue could only take The Bear in small doses. Virgil had a feeling he was going to have to encourage Scott to have lunch with him soon. Alan was cheerful again, though still feeling the effects of hypothermia, even if he wasn't saying it out loud. A few more days and these two would be discharged. Grandma had signed Alan off International Rescue duty for a week post discharge, subject to extension if required. Virgil was sure Alan was looking forward to the warmth of their island and the comfort of home. With John scheduled for downtime at the same time, Virgil couldn't wait to have the whole family back under one roof.


End file.
